WNYT.com

Local relief supplies heading for storm zone

ALBANY - Relief supplies from the Capital Region are well on their way toward the storm zone. Many local residents are doing what ever they can to help those in need, including two Albany residents who have two entirely different reasons to get involved.

Seeing the heartbreaking images on television and witnessing the deepening despair was difficult for Danielle Shubert, especially since she shares a common bond with so many storm survivors.

"I have a new baby and knowing that a mother couldn't feed her baby, if that was me, I'd be so upset," Shubert, a kindergarten teacher, said. "I just wanted to help another mother."

And so with three month old Thomas as her inspiration, Danielle began collecting baby formula, diapers, wipes, and anything else she thought might be useful to people who, in many cases, have lost everything.

"I just looked in my pantry and I found things that I hadn't had in a while, that didn't expire for a couple of years, and put them in a bag," Shubert explained.

Of course Danielle needed to find someone who could deliver the goods. That's where her friend Jessica Mokhiber comes in. They loaded her SUV, then transferred the load into Alan Ng's car, who, as it turns out, was heading to Staten Island Friday night to see his parents, who remained hunkered down in their home when Sandy came howling through.

"The entire time, they stayed inside," Ng, a mechanical engineer from Albany, said. "My mother said she was listening to the wind the whole time and thought that her roof was going to fly off."

Ng suspects his aging parents may be without power for at least several weeks, which is why he was anxious to rush two propane heaters down to them.

"I'm just trying to get the heat going so that my parents won't get sick," Ng says. "I'm more concerned about them getting sick and not being able to do much."

Alan Ng isn't only delivering the goods, he's delivering a message that a mechanical engineer and a kindergarten teacher can play vital roles during a long recovery.

"I hope that they appreciate the things that come to them," Shubert says. "If something ever happens up here in Albany, I hope they would help us out."

Ng says, in the morning, he intends to find a church, synagogue, or food pantry to drop off the rest of the donated items.